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Help! My dog licks his paws raw. What causes it & how can I stop him?

Updated On September 23rd, 2025

Pet's info: Dog | Labrador Retriever | Male | unneutered | 110 lbs

My dog has licked his paws and legs raw, medication helps but only for a little bit. He has huge sores that ooze and bleed, and are swollen. What is causing the pain and how can we prevent him from licking them raw?

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3 Answers

Most Helpful Answer

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Answered By Sara Farmer, DVM

Veterinarian

Published on June 3rd, 2018

The most common cause of excessive licking is allergies, either to food or more commonly something in the environment. If you have ruled out a food allergy with an 8 week hypoallergenic diet trail supervised by your veterinarian, you may want to talk about options to keep environmental allergies at bay. There are several medications to try that might help (Apoquel, Cytopoint, Atopica, and prednisone are a few) or you may want to discuss sending out either a serum allergy panel or referral to a dermatologist for intradermal skin testing. If the underlying problem is not treated the secondary infections will keep reoccurring.

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    Answered By Jennifer Summerfield, DVM CPDT-KA

    Veterinarian, Certified Dog Trainer

    Published on December 13th, 2016

    Poor Rosie! I'm sorry to hear that she's having so much trouble. The most common reason for excessive licking of her paws would be allergies (either food allergies, or an allergy to something in the environment), but this could also be caused by demodectic mange, or a bacterial or fungal skin infection. If you want to try some home care first to see if the problem improves, you can soak her paws in warm water and Epsom salts for 5-10 minutes every night to help dry out the moist areas and soothe the irritation. I wouldn't recommend continuing with the Vaseline and antibiotic ointment, because these tend to make the area stay moist which can contribute to continuing irritation and soreness. Instead, you could try a water-based topical antibiotic spray that would dry more quickly and not leave the paw gooey and moist for hours. If you don't see any improvement in the next 2-3 days, then I would really recommend taking Rosie to the vet. He/she can do some simple skin tests to help diagnose the problem and prescribe appropriate medication to treat it, such as an oral antibiotic or steroid such as prednisone.

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    Answered By Dr. Leigh, DVM

    Veterinarian

    Published on February 7th, 2018

    Licking paws is a sign that she may have allergies. She may need an anti-histamine, corticosteroids, and/or an antibiotic so she should be examined by a vet for treatment. If she has sores then you could soak her paws in a warm Epsom salt solution and see if that helps.

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